What Happens If I Make a Mistake on Immigration Documents?
The result may be that you’re seen as unlawfully in the country
By Doug Mentes, Esq. | Last updated on January 26, 2023Use these links to jump to different sections:
Immigration law is thought to be one of the more complex areas of law—where experienced legal counsel is necessary. If that was true before, it is certain now.
What Is the Rule?
Previously, the rules required USCIS officers to issue a RFE unless there was no possibility that any filing deficiency could be cured by submission of additional evidence—situations like when an applicant applies for a non-existent benefit. The new rule eliminates that requirement and now allows the USCIS officer full discretion to deny applications, petitions, and requests without first issuing an RFE or a NOID. The attorney general says this policy is not intended to penalize immigration status filers for common mistakes or misunderstandings of evidentiary requirements. The AG claims the new rules are intended to discourage frivolous or substantially incomplete filings used as “placeholder” filings, and encourage applicants, petitioners, and requestors to be diligent in collecting and submitting required evidence.Mistakes Will Be Costly
The subjective decision of judging whether an application has sufficient evidence, and who makes that decision, is one concern Parsonage has about the rules. Denial of an application for missing supporting documents is another. “I’ve been doing this a number of years and I can tell you there have been many occasions when we’ve received a RFE that says, ‘You didn’t send X, Y, or Z’ and we look back because we keep a copy and, sure enough, we sent X, Y or Z,” says Parsonage. “The officers either didn’t see it, or it got separated. So, there are bureaucratic mess-ups at USCIS that now look like they could end up putting people into deportation.”Experienced Legal Assistance Necessary
“Everybody must be much more careful when filing an application,” she says. In the past, “it wasn’t a particularly risky thing to do if you missed something or made a mistake. You’d just get a letter saying, ‘you goofed, send us this.’ Could be a simple mistake like forgetting your bachelor’s degree certificate in the envelope. Now they can deny it and put you into deportation.” Parsonage also cautions that notaries are no replacement for licensed, legal help. Now more than ever, it is important for anyone applying for immigration or immigration benefits to contact a law firm and seek legal advice from an experienced immigration attorney. For more information on this area of law, see our immigration overview.What do I do next?
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